Big Bad Wolf
by Pepperfishh
Summary: "You really think so? There are people all over this galaxy that owe that man a debt."
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
>Coming Home<strong>

_Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies. Night will fall and dark will rise when a good man runs to war. Demons run but count the cost; the battle's won but the child is lost. _

"But who is that which howls the moon; the wolf will change all of the rules."

She walked through the corridors quickly but with a grace unknown to humans. No one so much as looked her way – most of the staff at Torchwood was intimidated by her. She had tried to change that in the beginning – hadn't thought she was really that terrifying – but really, she supposed, there was a reason she was known throughout the universe. Only in whispers.

"Director," she greeted, walking into his office. "I doubt I'll be coming back this time."

The man behind the desk continued typing away on his computer for a few more moments, not looking up as he replied, "And I don't suppose you're planning on telling what's going on?" When he received no response, he turned to look at her. "Is this something we should be concerned about?"

She shook her head in the negative. "It is nothing this world will need to be concerned about."

This really seemed to catch his attention. "This world as in this planet? Or this world as in…"

"As in this world," she confirmed.

"When did you solve the problem?" he questioned, truly curious that she was suddenly will to break all the rules. "You're breaking your own rules now. It's supposed to be impossible."

"I've always known." Her voice became quiet, almost wistful. "But it wasn't time. Now is the time."

"The time for what?" he asked impatiently, although at the same time, knowing she was being intentionally cryptic.

"Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war." And then she quite literally vanished.

…

Jack Harkness sat at the bar, cringing at this horrible thing called "karaoke night" that Ianto and Gwen had forced him into. Whoever was currently on stage should never be allowed behind a microphone ever again. He'd hoped to drown out the sound if he could just throw back the drinks quickly enough.

_I'm coming home, I'm coming home  
>Tell the world I'm coming home<br>Let the rain wash away  
>All the pain of yesterday<br>I know my kingdom awaits  
>And they've forgiven my mistakes<br>I'm coming home, I'm coming home  
>Tell the world that I'm coming<em>

Jack looked up from his drink. The voice was beautiful. He looked towards the stage. The woman was even more beautiful. It was like she was surrounded in a golden light. He'd never seen anything like that. As he stood from his seat, Ianto and Gwen both looked up at him. Ianto grabbed his arm and gave him a questioning glance, but Jack didn't see it. He shrugged his hand off, and continued on towards the stage in a trance.

As the song came to an end, the woman finally lifted her head and her eyes locked with Jack. Her eyes were golden! She gave him a small smile and lifted her hand above her head, palm outward, and made almost a sweeping motion across the room. The lights went out for a moment, and when they returned to normal, the girl was gone. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned and went back to the bar.

"I need a strong one," he muttered to himself. He glanced behind the bartender at the bottles of liquor, attempting to pick his poison. There was one problem with this though. All the words were the same. On every label – everything said the same thing. He looked from side to side – it was everywhere.

_Bad Wolf_

"We need to go," Jack said frantically to his two companions, and then ran out of the bar without checking to see if they were behind him. Exchanging bewildered glances, Gwen and Ianto rushed after him.

Jack threw open the door and started looking everywhere. "Come on, I know you're out here!" he shouted. Muttering to himself, "I don't know how you're out here. It's supposed to be impossible."

"Jack, what _are_ you on about?" Gwen asked him, frustrated at the knowledge that he was apparently not sharing.

"Captain Jack," a woman's voice said quietly in the alleyway behind the bar. Jack turned, eyes trying to penetrate the darkness. "You are living proof that I do the impossible."

"You're not supposed to exist anymore," he replied, trying to keep his voice even. "You were supposed to be gone."

She laughed, a beautiful and terrible sound, and walked out of the shadows. "The silly doctor, thinking he could be rid of the core of time itself."

Jack gasped at the sight. It was her, but it wasn't. Different, but the same. He couldn't really explain it. "You're not her," he observed.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "No, I am. I am Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler is Bad Wolf. She's not entirely here right now," she admitted, tapping her temple. "But she can be. She will be, as a matter of fact. I can share. But not yet."

"Are you hurting her?" he demanded.

"Sometimes, I suppose it does hurt," Bad Wolf said slowly. "It's not exactly something that can be helped. And it passes. But there is nothing that can be done about it. Rose knows this. She can see what I can see, which is everything. She knows this is how it's supposed to be."

"Why… Why are you here?"

"So he didn't call upon you then?" she looked almost surprised. "The Doctor."

"Haven't heard from him" was Jack's flippant response.

"Yes," she nodded in understanding, "This doctor runs from his past. Very different from my doctor. So angry. But nonetheless, I heard the call, although I doubt it was mean to reach me. Jack, you and I are going to break the rules."

And with that, the golden light disappeared, and she crumpled to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2  
>The Highest Authority<strong>

Only a few moments later, Rose opened her eyes, gasping for breath and clutching her head. Jack rushed forwards, kneeling on the ground next to her. She looked up at him and smiled, and sweet smile that let him know Bad Wolf had left for the time being.

"You know, I never really get used to it," she said, gritting her teeth. "It hurts _every time_."

Jack hugged her tightly. "Do you have any idea how long it's been?" he asked her.

She laughed lightly. "I promise you, it's been longer for me." When he looked as though he may question this, she interrupted. "Stories for later, I promise. We need to be going. Vortex manipulator in good working order?"

"What? Oh, yeah, it's fine." She reached forward and grabbed it from him to enter the coordinates. "Where exactly are we going, Rose?"

She frowned at him. "How much do you know about Demon's Run?" The blank look he responded with gave her his answer. "I'm rewriting history. It's against the rules, but I kind of am the rules now, so, I guess it's not against the rules. Hard to explain." She glanced over at Ianto and Gwen. "You coming too?"

...

The room they appeared into was tense. The Doctor stood up on a stage in a robe – in front of him were soldiers taking aim, and behind him were robbed creatures with swords.

"You're only human," he said, calmly. The man in uniform on the stage walked towards the Doctor, gun pointed at his head.

"Doctor, you will come with me right now."

"He's always had a flair for dramatics," Jack whispered, grinning. Rose nodded, laughing silently in agreement, before turning to face the other two and whispering out her instructions rapidly.

"Now, you three find Amy and Rory. Erm, she's a red head, he'll be dressed like a Roman soldier and holding a baby. Stay with them. Try to keep everyone alive at the end. Don't tell anyone I'm here. I have something else I'm needed for. Just wait for the lights to go."

"Three minutes, forty seconds. Amelia Pond! Get your coat!" he shouted, before putting his hood back up as the room went dark.

"Go!" Rose hissed, running off in the opposite way.

Jack, Gwen, and Ianto followed her orders, running through corridors until they came across a man dressed as Roman and carrying a baby.

"Erm, Rory!" The Roman stopped, spinning around. "Look, I know you don't know me, but we're here to help. We're friends of the Doctor. Well, I'm a friend of the Doctor, and these are friends of mine."

"He sent you to help me?" Rory questioned. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"Not quite," Jack said, grinning. "Our orders come from a higher authority. The Doctor only thinks he knows everything. Now, I believe we're looking for your wife."

…

"No, Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away."

Gwen and Ianto stood outside the door to the control room. Jack sent them there, saying he had received a message from Rose, and that they needed to go to the Doctor.

"Those words, run away. I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Runaway. I want children laughing outside your door cause they found the house of Colonel Runaway. And when people come to you and ask if trying to get to me through the people _I love_ is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name! Look, I'm angry, that's new."

"You should really calm down," Gwen interjected.

The Doctor spun around, glaring at the interruption. "Who the hell are you?"

"Torchwood," Gwen explained simply.

"I didn't ask for Torchwood's help," he argued.

"You're missing the point," Ianto said, sound impatient. "We don't have a lot of time, and you're so worked up that you're _missing the point!_"

"Would you care to fill me in on what the point is then!?"

"She didn't tell us," a third, familiar voice provided. "Honestly Doc, she's as cryptic as you are."

"I figured you were around here somewhere when they said Torchwood," the Doctor sighed, settling himself back down in the seat. His face lit up when he saw Amy and Rory. "Oh, you guys are alright then. Reunited and all that… stuff." He paused. "Well, I suppose we should get to the Tardis."

…

Rose sat at a computer, the entire room glowing, as she traced the flesh signal back to where Melody Pond actually was. As soon as the found them, she locked on, downloaded the signal to her mobile device, and hurried out of the room.

She stayed in the shadows by the Tardis, watching carefully as the monks closed in on the Doctor's friends. Jack was doing as he was told, dutifully protecting Rory, Amy, and their child.

As the battle carried on, she couldn't help but wonder what was taking the Doctor so long. Jack had died twice already, but everyone else remained unharmed. When it became clear that the Doctor wasn't showing up any time soon, Rose jumped into action.

"This stops now!" she screamed, her voice harsh as it echoed throughout the room. Everyone stopped moving and looked her way. Jack's grin was the only give away, but no one seemed to be paying him any attention.

"Amelia," Rose said slowly, "I'm going to need you to remain calm. What you're holding is not your child, but I can guarantee you that your daughter is safe and will be here soon."

"What? But, who are you? My daughter is right here." In that instant, the child in her arms disintegrated.

"Flesh," Rose replied. "You've all been tricked into believing you were winning. I tried to send him a warning, but he's too worked up to see through them. I was hoping to get this completed with minimal interference on my part."

"Um, you still there?" Jack questioned slowly, noticing that her words didn't really sound like Rose anymore.

"Still me, Jack. Not for much longer. Don't worry. This is the way it's supposed to be."

"Who are you people!" Amy cried.

"Later," Rose said. "First of all… Monks – I'm going to need you to leave." They began chanting again. "I didn't say argue with me, I said leave." As they ignored her, she tried once more. "Okay, seriously, last chance, you leave, or I _make_ you leave."

At that moment, she heard the Doctor pounding against the locked door, screaming to Amy that the child wasn't real. She scoffed slightly – this Doctor wasn't quite as sharp as hers. _Losing it in his old age_, the Bad Wolf laughed in her head.

Rose turned her attention back to the monks, who hadn't stopped chanting, and were now circling her. "Bye Jack," she said, without looking at him. "See ya later." Her body glowed. She raised the hood of her stolen robe to cover her face.

"Divide," she said, but with a different voice. The occupants of the room watched in awe as she raised her arm, and the Doctor burst into the room just as the monks vanished into gold dust.

"What was that?" he cried, screeching to a halt. "Who are you?"

Jack laughed at him. "My higher authority."

"So they took her anyway," Amy said, tears streaming down her face. "All this was for nothing."

"I am so sorry," the Doctor said, sounding heartbroken.

"Amelia Pond," Bad Wolf called, the sound a million voices in one. "Did I not tell you that your child was safe and would be here soon?" Amy just looked at her in disbelief. "I'm going to need everyone to stand back."

"Who is this?" the Doctor whispered, pulling Amy back as the woman ordered.

"We have no idea. Were kinda hoping you did," Rory supplied. "She just turned everything into dust."

She pulled her mobile device out of her pocket and pulled up the lock she had placed on the ship carrying away the baby. She spun, up into the air, hovering above them all, and in a flash of light, Madam Kovarian was in the room, as was Melody Pond, sleeping in her carrier. Madam Kovarian blinked once, and then rushed forward to take the baby.

"If you touch her, I will end you," Bad Wolf said from above, annunciating each word slowly.

Madam Kovarian widened her eyes. "You can't be here. It's against the rules. You're breaking all the rules."

As she came back down to the ground, she snarled at the woman, "I am the rules! You think the Doctor is scary, you have no idea. You have found out what happens when you come at the Doctor through his loved ones, do you want to find out what happens when you touch mine?"

Jack looked over at Gwen and Ianto, holding out his arm, "Look, goosebumps!"

"But-But they assured me this wouldn't happen if I went after him. They told me you wouldn't do it. They – "

"The Silence doesn't know everything," Bad Wolf replied in a bored tone. "Now, just… three… two… and, there she is!" She pointed her finger behind the doctor as River Song appeared.

She shushed everyone as the Doctor spun on River, screaming at her for her timing, and River returning the argument, blaming the Doctor for everything. She leaned down into the cradle to pick up tiny Melody Pond, and walked past Madam Kovarian, shooting her look, daring her to move. She handed Melody off to Jack before continuing on to the Doctor and River.

"This is not his fault," Bad Wolf said. "This is _your_ fault."

River looked up at her, seeing her for the first time. "Who the hell are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, hello all. This is my first ever Doctor Who story. I hope you're all enjoying it. I apologize for how long it may take me to push out some updates, but I work and go to school full time, and I got a bit overwhelmed by exams last week.**

**Also, this will NOT be one of those stories that is basically a rewrite of the show where it's essentially just the script. That's annoying. If I wanted to read that, I'd turn on the subtitles while I watch my DVDs. So, that being said, I keep changing timelines, and it takes me a while to figure out what exactly I'm going to change. That being said, I've taken some things into my own hands. As you read, you may be saying to yourself, "BUT THAT'S WRONG!" Yes, I know. I'm changing timelines and taking things into my own hands. So bear with me here.**

**Last note before I continue on with the story, chapter title on this one comes from the Katy Perry song. Just because every time I hear that song, I think of Bad Wolf. I think it's a really fitting Bad Wolf song. **

**Chapter 3  
>Dark Horse<strong>

"Dr. River Song," Bad Wolf mused. "Or Professor? Are you Professor River Song at this point? Forgive me, all these timelines I've just changed, it's hard to keep up."

"Who are you?" River repeated, not taking the bait. But rather than answer, Bad Wolf, once again, just collapsed. River blinked, shocked, and stepped forward, unsure how to react.

"Don't touch her!" Jack called out. "Honestly, she's fine. She'll be up in just a moment."

Just as he had said, a moment later, she stood back up, clutching at her covered head and groaning. "Oh, sure, I'm left to do all the explaining. You, just… hold on a minute," she said, pointing to River. She walked back over to Jack and took Melody from his arms.

"Amelia, Rory, would you like to hold your baby girl?" Rose asked, turning towards them. She gently handed Melody to her mother, and although no one could see it, she smiled as Rory and Amy cooed at their daughter. She took a look around the room, and stopped once she was facing Jack again. "Made a bit of a mess, didn't I?" she giggled. She took a step towards him, but stumbled a bit. He reached out and grabbed ahold of her waist to steady her.

"You alright, there?"

"Splitting headache," she muttered. "And I have explanations." She raised her voice so the others could hear. "You'll have to be patient with me here. Altering all of time and space gives me such a headache." Jack chuckled at how careless she sounded.

"So let's start with Dr. Professor River Song." She turned towards the woman, keeping one hand gripping onto Jack's arm for support. "You're supposed to kill the Doctor." Everyone in the room gasped. "Don't get yourselves all worked up. I don't want her to kill the Doctor any more than she actually _wants_ to kill the Doctor. However, unfortunately, somehow, the Doctor's death became a fixed point in time. And yet you didn't do what you were supposed to, and it was all very paradox-y, confusing, end-of-the-world, calling out to the universe for help type… stuff," Rose explained, grinning to herself as she realized how much she was beginning to sound like her Doctor. Her voice began to take on a wistful tone. "And your plea '_The Doctor is dying. Please, please help_.' This universe is not the only one that heard." She shook her head as if to clear away the memory. "Lucky for you, my universe heard as well. Very lucky for you, as I'm the only one that could help."

"Oh yeah, you're so wonderful," River said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Clearly, just, the goddess of time."

Rose turned her head to look up at Jack. "Oh, goddess of time – I like that one. _Goddess of Time._" She paused and then let out a laugh. "Much better than Time Lord. Oh yes, I like it."

"Who _are _you?" the Time Lord repeated, taking a threatening step towards her.

"The Goddess of Time," Rose responded, laughing. The Doctor threw her a hard look. "Sorry. Look, all I think I should say at this point is that you were going to die, River sent signals calling throughout the universe to help, and I answered. However, the only way I could help was to essentially go back to where it all started, which was here, and rewrite time. Now, River?"

River said nothing, but merely raised her eyebrows at the mysterious woman.

"Since you're still obviously… well… you, which is in and of itself a huge paradox, I'm going to give you an option here. It's an option that I know the Doctor won't approve of, however, I know you also don't really give a damn about whether or not the Doctor approves."

Everyone in the room snorted as the Doctor gave an indignant cry.

"What is my option?" River asked condescendingly, still not quite grasping who the woman was.

"In what is now becoming an alternate timeline, this woman destroyed your life. She took you away from your parents. She turned you into a psychopath. And when you finally healed from that, she still took control of your body, and used it against you to kill the man that you love. She's hurt _you_ more than anyone else in this room." She reached into her boot to withdraw her gun, and held it out to River without hesitation. "Which is why it's up to you what happens to her."

"You can't do this!" Madam Kovarian cried. "You're supposed to be the one that keeps _him_ under control. You don't _kill_."

"Oh, darling," Rose began, contempt dripping from her voice. "You need to update your records. I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy."

Begging for her life, Madam Kovarian locked eyes with the Doctor. "You can't let her do this. How can you just stand there and let her do this? I'm not saying I don't deserve it, but you two are supposed to be above this!" At the Doctor's bewildered look, a grin broke across her face. "Oh, but you don't know, do you?" She leaned forward and with an eerie smile, said, "Tell me, _Doctor_, how long has it been since you've seen the big Bad Wolf?"

Rose froze as the Doctor spun to stare at her, and the gun she had been holding out to River fell to the ground. Jack wrapped at arm around her waist for support as he felt her grip on his arm tighten to the point of discomfort.

The Doctor took a step towards her, eyes squinting at her as if trying to see under her hood, but she refused to lower it. "_Rose?_" he asked in disbelief.

"I prefer Goddess of Time, actually."

Jack snorted, but upon seeing the Time Lord's glare, covered it up with a cough. The Doctor walked forward until there was practically no space between them. He lifted his hand, almost nervously, to the edge of her hood and slowly pushed it back away from her head.

He inhaled sharply the moment her face came into view. There was a tense moment of silence as he reached out to touch her, as though he was still unconvinced that she was real. The spell was soon broken, however, and she didn't expect what followed.

"How could you be so _irresponsible_?!" he shouted at her, taking a step back and glaring at her.

She flinched as though she had been slapped. "Excuse me?"

"It's supposed to be impossible to travel between the parallel worlds!" he screamed, waving his arms around. "Do you have any idea the damage you may have caused? Why would you take that risk?!"

"Because you were going to die," Rose shouted back. "I'm not a child anymore, _Doctor_. I've lived a very long time without you, and I don't have to explain myself to you anymore." She turned to River. "Do whatever you want to Madam Kovarian. You will continue to exist in this form, but as soon as you leave here your memories are going to start rewriting themselves, because you are finally going to get to grow up with your parents. If you have any questions, you can come find me."

She gave Jack a meaningful look, and in the next moment, Rose and the Torchwood team activated their vortex manipulators and disappeared.

The room was silent, it's remaining occupants all staring at the Doctor. "So… that was Rose Tyler," he said slowly. "She's not supposed to be here."


	4. Chapter 4

***hides behind a wall* Sorry guys. Life happened. But I haven't given up. **

**Chapter 4  
>The Doctor's Protector<strong>

"What do you mean she's not supposed to be here?" Amy asked, wide eyes darting around the room in confusion. "And where did they just go?"

"I would assume they're going back to Torchwood," the Doctor murmured, still shocked into near silence.

"What happens to me?" River asked.

The Doctor gave her a sad smile. "I honestly don't know. What she did should bring reapers, and it didn't. I have no idea how she did it, so I'm not entirely sure what the consequences are. You'd have to talk to Rose."

River nodded to herself. "Right." She looked up at the Doctor for confirmation. "You said they went to Torchwood?" He nodded once at her, and she disappeared.

After a long moment of silence, Amy turned to look at the Doctor. "So what do we do with Kovarian?"

As if she had planned it, River reappeared for a moment, only long enough to shoot the woman point blank between the eyes, and then disappeared again.

Without blinking, Rory replied, "Well, I guess River made her choice."

.xoxo.

It had been a week since the battle of Demon's Run. Rose had returned to Torchwood with Jack, Ianto, and Gwen, and had not yet left. Jack promised her a place there as long as she wanted it, so she intended to take him up on his offer.

But she had barely spoken since her return. Sure, casual words here and there. Discussing work was always on the table, but other than that, she was completely closed off, and Jack was beginning to worry about her.

"Rose," he called, stepping outside to the balcony of their shared flat. She spent most of her time out there now, reading during the day, and just staring up at the sky during the night.

She looked up when he called her name, but it was the only response he got. "Are we ever going to discuss this?" he implored. "I know you're dying inside."

"Jack," she sighed. She paused for a long moment, trying to find words. Finally, she started again. "Jack, did you know I've been popping back and forth between the two universes for about a century now?"

The shocked look on his face answered her question.

"I've known how to get back for quite a while. The first time I died in the parallel universe – it's like that activated whatever I am." Her voice took on a wistful tone. "The first time I did it, traveled across the void, I hadn't even meant to. I had just been sitting alone, thinking about the Doctor, wondering what he was doing, wishing things had been different. Next thing I know, I'm in Cardiff, and there's the Tardis, just sitting there and refueling. And my first instinct was to run to him, of course it was. And then I saw the doors open, and a strange man in a tweed jacket pushed two people out, telling them to enjoy the city for the night and that they would be leaving in the morning.

"I talked to the two of them, not that they would remember it. Just bumped into them, made small talk, ya know, introduced myself. I just wanted to see if they knew who I was. But there was nothing. No recognition of my name or who I was. And I realized that the Doctor had moved on – and really, that's okay. It took me a long time to accept that, but I did. Because I can still appreciate what he did for me all those years ago. I don't need him to be fantastic, because dammit, I'm fantastic all on my own.

"I'm going to live forever, Jack. It's a really long time to be alone."

Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulder and hugged her into his side. "You're not alone, beautiful. You're stuck with eternity with me. And Rose Tyler, there is no one I'd rather be stuck with than you." He paused a moment, letting her soak in his words. "Tell you what, Tyler. How about I go and grab us something strong from my liquor cabinet, and we have ourselves a long night that we're probably going to regret in the morning."

She smiled at him, and Jack was relieved to see that it was a true smile this time – one that crinkled her face and made her eyes light up. "That sounds fantastic."

_Immediately After Demon's Run_

"I've lost count of how old I am. It's been a few hundred years for me." Jack's eyes widened as she answered his question. Rose sat on the sofa in his office, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a cup of tea steaming on the table in front of her. "My doctor, er, John, the metacrisis doctor I mean, he didn't last very long. Longer than Donna, I've learned, but only a few months. I assume you know what happened to Donna?" At Jack's nod, she continued.

"John burned out six months later, but it was a slower process. Started with just headaches but progressed to the point where he couldn't even get out of bed. He knew what was happening, of course, and explained it to me. Told me how to fix it to save his life, but there was no way to do it. We didn't have the Doctor.

"I told you I've been coming back and forth for a while now, but I never really stuck around very much. I always came to Cardiff, but at first, I had some serious trouble controlling everything. Once I landed in what I'm assuming was an alternate universe." At Jack's questioning look, she elaborated. "I think I met a regeneration of the Doctor gone wrong. Called himself the Master, but had the Doctor's TARDIS. It was… a rough 18 months for me."

"18 months?!" Jack exclaimed. "I thought you never stayed long!"

"This… Master, whoever it was, found me almost immediately. I couldn't control anything, but he had… for lack of better term, destroyed the TARDIS and could use it to control me." She shivered. "He was fascinated to learn I couldn't die. He took his sweet time exploring every option."

Just as Jack opened his mouth to help fill in the blanks, he heard shouts from his team. He and Rose jumped up and looked out the window to find River standing in front of Gwen and Ianto. The two exchanged looks before sighing and exiting his office to confront her.

"River, pleasure to see you again," Rose called out, walking down the staircase. "How can I help you?"

River held her finger out, indicating for Rose to wait a moment. River disappeared momentarily, and then reappeared. "Sorry. Forgot to do something important." She locked eyes with Rose. "You and I need to have some words."

Rose nodded. "Shall we go for a walk?"

…

As the two walked around Cardiff in silence, River struggled with what she wanted to ask first. And wondered whether or not she could trust this obviously extremely powerful being next to her.

"I'll answer just about anything," Rose said quietly. "And you have no reason to be afraid of me. I'd never hurt the Doctor's wife."

River gave her a small smile. "I'm not exactly his wife anymore, am I?"

Rose shrugged. "You never really were in the first place, at least not in this reality. But in some reality you were. Kind of."

"What brought you here?" River asked abruptly.

"You did," Rose said softly. "I told you. You're call for help reached out to my universe. I couldn't let the Doctor die."

"Why not?" River asked impatiently. "Who are you?"

"On some planets, I was the Doctor's wife," Rose answered, giving her a small grin. "Just depended on what kind of trouble we got ourselves in. But as for what matters, I'm nobody. Clearly I'm nobody."

"But what does that mean?!"

"You're usually the cryptic one. I can tell you don't like it as much when you're not the one who knows more than everyone else." Rose gave a small laugh. "Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. A right headache, actually." After another short pause, Rose finally gave her more. "The Doctor protects the Universe. I'm the one who protects the Doctor. He just doesn't know it."

River decided to let the subject drop, realizing she wouldn't get anymore from Rose. After a few more minutes of silence, River spoke up again.

"So what happens to me now?"

"I can do whatever you'd like. I can make it as though your previous life never existed; I can make everyone forget." River was shaking her head. "I didn't think you'd like that. You will remember what happened. You will begin gaining happy memories of growing up with Amy and Rory as your parents. The same will happen to them, and to the Doctor. For you, from here on out, nothing really changes anyway. It's just about what you remember, and if you want to, you will remember it all."

"I've had enough people messing with my head," River told her. "I'd rather not forget anything else."

Rose nodded. "Understood. If there's anything else you need, you know where to find me. Well, at least, you know the general area. Really, just call and I'll show up."

Without another word, Rose turned and made her way back to the Torchwood hub. River stood and watched her a moment longer before disappearing into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, work has been insane this summer. I also got myself a puppy, and he is definitely a handful. However, I'm now back in school for my last semester, but work is slowed down and I literally have nothing to do during the day…**

**I actually had the first half of this chapter written quite a while ago, but then work gave me a new computer, and I'm not entirely sure what happened to the chapter in the transfer of files. So instead of Rose's point of view to begin with, we're going to start with the doctor.**

**Chapter 5  
>Universal Whispers<strong>

"Doctor, she's everywhere!" Amy whispered harshly in disbelief as they walked through the jungle.

"The Deva Lokans seem to worship her," Rory commented in agreement. "They have shrines, Doctor. Shrines!"

The Doctor stopped walking and looked back at his two companions. "Look, here I am trying to do a favor for you two by bringing you to this wonderful paradise so you can relax after all the stress of Demon's Run, and all you can do is talk about her. Just move on, alright?"

As they continued in a somewhat awkward silence, with Rory and Amy exchanging worried glances, the Doctor seemed to be lost in thought. He guided them to a beautiful beach where the humanoid natives were spread out in the sun like it was Miami.

"It's so quiet," Rory whispered to the Doctor, looking at him questioningly.

"Deva Lokans are a telepathic race," he explained. "Not much need for speaking. That's not to say they don't know how, but among each other, they have no real reason to. Even better for you two – some nice peace and quiet."

As he watched his two companions swim through the waves on the warm beach, he wondered if Rose was doing this all intentionally to get his attention. This was the fifth planet he had taken Rory and Amy that had signs of the Bad Wolf's presence. It didn't really seem to be her way of doing things though. If anything, it seemed as though she were avoiding him, and he was destined to follow. Each planet was either wildly obsessed with Bad Wolf, like Deva Loka, or had just days before been saved by Bad Wolf, such as the planet Demos, where the locals told him of a blonde goddess and her companions saving them all from "the Devil".

Of course, he knew it wasn't the devil. They had actually already defeated the devil, but nonetheless, he knew Demos was one planet where the native culture believed in such a thing. _What was it that Rose had actually saved them from?_

And what exactly did she think she was doing, off gallivanting across the universe? How was she even doing it? And who were these companions? Was Jack with her?

"Doctor, are you ready to leave?"

"Doctor?"

"Oi, raggedy man, what is wrong with you!?"

The Doctor was startled out of his thoughts by shouting coming from, well, directly in front of him actually. He looked up, and his first thought was that Amy and Rory looked considerably darker than they had when he shooed them away just moments before. His second thought was that the planet in general looked darker than it had moments ago.

"What, ready to go already then?" he asked them, surprised. "You're always buggering me about taking you somewhere nice, and you're already ready to leave."

"Doctor, we've been here for hours!" Rory replied, shocked.

"Yeah, I'm a redhead. Do you have any idea how harsh this sun has been on my skin?" Amy complained, wincing as she poked herself in the arm. "I'm going to be a lobster for the next week."

"You will be absolutely fine, Amelia," the Doctor scolded. "There's no need to be overdramatic."

After Deva Loka, the Doctor took them home. Not permanently, he promised them. But he had some things to do, and it would be good for them to catch up on their Earth lives for a while.

"You're going to go look for Rose," Rory said knowingly, lingering just outside after his wife had gone into their home. The Doctor said nothing. "She didn't seem too thrilled with you when she left last time." He tilted his head in agreement. "You were kind of an idiot."

"I'm well aware," the Doctor acknowledged. "In my defense, however, I had accepted a long time ago that I would never see her again. I lashed out a bit when I saw her. You know I'm terrible at dealing with emotions."

Rory laughed. "You're terrible at dealing with many things." He paused, unsure if he should continue with the question that had been plaguing him and his wife for the last few weeks. "But Doctor… who is she? You never did tell us."

There was a long period of silence, and for a moment, as he watched the Doctor open the door to the Tardis, he assumed the Doctor was just going to ignore him and go on his way. But as he stepped inside the Tardis, he looked back at Rory.

"She's my everything," he said quietly. "At least she was at one time."

Rory opened his mouth to question him, but the telltale sound of the Tardis went off before he could, and it faded from view in front of him. As it disappeared, a woman came running down the street, screaming for the Doctor.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed. "I missed him again."

"Excuse me, can I help you?" Rory asked. The woman looked quite distressed.

She paused, looking exhausted. Her breath was heaving after the run, and she had keeled over and was glaring at the street as she caught her breath. "No, probably not. I'm probably not even in the right time yet anyway. It's just, I locked on to the Tardis, but I never know when I am. When am I?" she finally asked, looking up at him for the first time.

Rory gasped as she made eye contact. "Rose!" Her eyes widened. Her hair was lighter now, almost a bleach blonde as opposed to the honey blonde that he had seen a few weeks ago, and she looked younger. She was wearing a tight, fitted uniform, almost like a military standard.

"Do I know you?" she questioned, tilting her head at him in wonder.

"Yes, of course you do!" he replied, genuinely confused. "We met a few weeks ago – you helped save my daughter. You did that crazy glowing thing and – ."

"Stop, you have to stop!" Rory and Rose spun around to find out where the voice had come from.

An older man with greying hair stood a few feet away, rolling his eyes at Rory. "I mean honestly," the old man continued as though they should know who he was, "all this time travelling and you still don't understand how it works, Rory Pond."

"Williams," he corrected without thinking. And then it clicked. "Doctor!?"

"Yes, of course. Who else would I be? Here I am, in the future, when I'm reminded of a time that I showed up to stop you from telling Rose entirely too much information. Think of me and River." He paused, allowing it to sink in. "Think of how often we meet out of order. It never dawned on you that it could be happening right now as well, considering she clearly looks very different."

"I'm too late," Rose spoke up softly, staring at the Doctor with sadness. "And you've regenerated. You're Scottish now."

"Oh Rose." The irritated look he had been glaring at Rory with melted away, and he smiled softly at Rose and he walked towards her. "Twice now, since this you has seen me. But don't worry, you'll find your Doctor. It will all work out."

"So I'll find you?" She was so hopeful. "He's met me before. Does that mean I'll find you and I'll make it back to my universe? Everything will work out!"

The Doctor smiled at her with pity. "You know I can't tell you, dear girl. I will do some very stupid things. But eventually, it should all work out. But you need to get back. You can't stay for too long."

She nodded once at him, but then held her arms out. "Can I?"

Without a word, the Doctor opened his arms in response. Rose ran into them and he hugged her to him tightly, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around for a moment.

"Your Doctor misses you so much, Rose," he whispered in her ear. "And I promise you, you'll find him when the time is right."

She only nodded against his shoulder, not wanting to let him go. After a deep breath, she released him and stepped back. No more words were exchanged as she pressed the bottom on some kind of device, and then disappeared.

"You'll never meet this me," the Doctor informed Rory quietly. "I only came back now because I was told that I did, so I had to prevent the paradox."

"I know, Doctor. You live much longer than us. I know we can't spend forever with you."

He nodded towards the house. "Best not tell your wife about this then. I've got to be off. I don't know if you run into her again, but if you do, make sure she knows you before you start talking."

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter is actually a bit shorter than I intended it to be, but I wanted to get it uploaded. I'm expecting next chapter to be a tad longer, and hopefully uploaded within the next week. <strong>

**Pepperfishh**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so, I'm just a terrible liar. Never believe me when I say I'm going to update soon. It's all a lie. However, I've kind of lost focus with this story. Probably only one more chapter after this one. I have too many new ideas I want to start. **

**Chapter 6  
>Out of Order<br>**

"Did you see the look on his face!?"

Rose collapsed to the couch in a fit of giggles as Jack followed her into the living room of their flat. As he plopped down next to her, he continued his rant.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I understand that 21st century Barcelona is not _quite_ as accepting as the universe as a whole was in the 51st century, but honestly, I don't think I've ever seen such a homophobic man in this universe outside of planet Earth's early years."

"Jack," she gasped through her laughter, "if a stranger walked up to me, and made the lewd comment that you made, I would probably be a bit upset to, eh?"

"Well it's a good thing I'm no stranger to you then," he interrupted with a wink.

"Honestly, I think he was just upset because you were staring at his dog," Rose said pointedly.

"But it doesn't have a nose!" Jack exclaimed. "That was one of the strangest things I've ever seen."

Suddenly subdued, Rose gave him a small smile. "Apparently they're famous for that." Jack, seeming to have notice the change in her attitude, started to ask her something, but she stood up before he got the chance. "I'm not feeling to well. I think I need some fresh air."

"No company?" Jack tried, even though he knew what her answer would be.

"I'll be fine," she assured him, pulling her jacket back on. "Be back in a while."

As the door clicked shut behind her, Jack found himself once more silently cursing both the Time Lord for breaking her heart, and her for being too stubborn for doing anything about it.

…

After round three or four, Rose started feeling better. It was getting late, but the alcohol warmed her enough that she could barely feel the chill in the air up on the rooftop of Juno Lounge. Three miles might be a bit of a walk just to get a drink, but she figured if she got a decent bit away from the Plass, Jack would be less likely to find her. Not to mention she was starting to become a fan of whatever band it was she could hear coming from The Globe just down the street.

"You know he's going to find you eventually," she heard a man with a Scottish accent say from behind her.

"Oh, you're not even looking for me yet," she replied, not even needing to turn around to know who it was. "Plus, it's not as though I'm hiding from him. I'm left Demon's Run with _Jack_. I'm in _Cardiff_."

"You don't want him to find you." He set another drink down in front of her, a Scotch almost as old as-

"Your new companion," she finished her thought out loud, looking up to find a young brunette standing next to the older Doctor. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure yet." She glanced up at him. "And stop saying 'him'. It's you. You're him."

Amusingly enough, the Doctor almost seemed nervous, looking between Rose and Clara. _Who is this girl?_ But Rose wasn't stupid. She could tell by the way she stood next to the Doctor, the way she looked up at him when Rose looked at her. This girl had no idea who she was, and although she may not want to admit it, part of her was a bit in love with the Doctor.

"Not exactly new," said the defiant child. _No_, Rose chastised herself._ Don't go being horrible to her before you've had the chance to really meet her. She could be lovely_.

"Last I saw him, he had a different face and a ginger girlfriend," Rose replied, locking eyes with the girl. "I'm Rose, by the way."

"I'm Clara," she replied, both of them ignoring the Doctor's protest of _"She wasn't my girlfriend! She was married!"_ "Who are you, then? I mean, you're Rose. But who are you to the Doctor?"

Rose shifted her eyes to glance at the Doctor questioningly. However, instead of responding to Clara, he asked Rose a different question.

"You knew who I was by my voice. You knew who I was without looking at me. When are you? I thought you wouldn't recognize me."

"Is that why you brought your new girlfriend?" Rose asked, laughing. "Hoping for a night on the town without the, what was it Mikey said, the ex-missus finding out?"

As Clara opened her mouth with another question, the Doctor interrupted. "You're not my _ex_-missus."

"I'm not you're ex _anything_," Rose clarified. "To say that would imply there was something there to begin with."

"Dear lord, I'd almost forgotten how bitter you were when you were this young," the Doctor replied, sounding somewhat condescending. Something in Rose snapped, and neither she nor the Doctor seemed to notice as the world froze around them. However, the Doctor looked down as he felt Clara pull on his sleeve and point around the room. "Is that really necessary?" he asked Rose, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"It wasn't exactly intentional," Rose huffed. "Happens when I feel a threat. Someone is up to something."

Just then her cell phone rang, knocking her out of focus, and time moved as normal again. "Yeah Jack?"

As Rose moved away to speak to Jack, Clara pulled the Doctor aside. "What _is_ she?" she questioned.

"Human," he responded immediately. "Er, well, mostly, anyway. A bit of Tardis mixed up in there too, I suspect."

"And are you actually going to tell me who she is?" Clara asked irritably, hands on her hips.

"She's my wife," the Doctor whispered. "Well, eventually we're getting married," he clarified, grinning at Clara's look of disbelief. "But at this point in our lives, she can't really stand to be around me. We're way out of order here, honestly. I'm in awe the she actually knew who I was."

They stopped whispering to each other as Rose snapped her phone shut and walked over to them. "Can you give me a lift back to Torchwood? Apparently it just blew up."

…

A week later, the Doctor sat next to Rose on the sofa in her flat, while Clara was out on the balcony, laughing at whatever it was Jack had just told her.

"Does it ever get any easier?" she asked him, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. "Losing the people you love, I mean – does it get any easier?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer. "Not necessarily easier," he told her. "The pain dulls over time, but it doesn't make it any easier each time it happens. Every loved one hurts. It just gets easier to deal with when you can barely remember what color their eyes were."

"Is that what happened to us?" she replied after a long pause. "Was it just so long for you that you'd forgotten what I looked like? Did you not want to see me again? Is that why you were so upset?"

He shook his head, but didn't elaborate much. Before she could push him further, he stopped her. "I'm not the one you should be hearing this from. You're hurting right now. You've lost two people you've grown close to. As much as I hate to admit it, you have Jack right now. You and I aren't matching up right now, and to be honest, this conversation is a bit too difficult for me to have to have it twice.

"The other me," he added at her confused look. "The one with floppy hair. He'll find you. And he'll grovel at your feet. And you'll forgive him. And then we'll live happily ever after."

"Obviously we're not together in the future," Rose pointed out. "Clara has clearly been around for a while, and she has no idea who I am."

"It's… complicated. My version of you is actually off visiting a… friend right now. For the beginning of our friendship, Clara's timelines were a bit weird, and it hurt for you to be around her – kind of like me and Jack, actually. We're slowly working on introducing you to her, but only if it doesn't give you a headache.

"Just don't give up on your Doctor yet, Rose Tyler," he whispered, holding her hand in his as he stood. He pressed his lips to her hand once, twice, and once more before releasing her. "He's sorting through his stupidity, but he'll come begging you to listen to him soon enough. Just be willing to."

* * *

><p><strong>By the way, in case you didn't catch on, this chapter lines up with pretty much the end of season two of Torchwood.<strong>

**Pepperfishh**


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